Neighbors spar over property lines near proposed Montgomery development

MONTGOMERY TWP. — A three-unit townhouse project is on its way to approval in Montgomery Township, but neighbors near the planned site want to make sure every property line is properly documented first.

Engineer Jason Smeland of Lenape Valley Engineering presented plans on behalf of property owner Edwin Goodwin Jr., and those plans provoked a lengthy discussion with several neighbors over the exact placement of property lines between their parcels.

“We’re going by the (surveying) pins that are out there, and my surveyor is ready to seal the plan as it is today,” Smeland said. “We want to make sure everybody is as comfortable as we (are)” with the boundary lines.

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The proposed development would be built on the spot currently occupied by a ranch house on the 100 block of Stevers Mill Road in the Montgomery Hollow development, and the applicant wants to build three new homes with driveway access from Stevers Mill that connect to a privately owned stormwater storage system beneath one of the three homes’ yards.

Smeland described the plan and the six waivers to the standard land development process he’s seeking from the board, largely to do with the stormwater management system and landscaping proposed for the site, before neighbors John and Christine Healy raised the question of improperly recorded property lines between their home and the proposed development parcel.

“The new surveyor that he just hired, and his surveys, are all going off of those pins in the ground,” said Christine Healy. The Healys contend that the pins may have been improperly recorded or placed and caused a discrepancy in boundary measurements between property lines in Smeland’s plans and copies they obtained from township files.

Neighbor Michele Evans also raised concerns about the construction contractor currently building another house nearby, and said a portable restroom has been placed on a sidewalk where kids have to walk around it. She also said that when the restroom wasn’t there, workers may have used a nearby pond instead.

After lengthy discussion among the neighbors, Smeland, and the board, township solicitor Frank Bartle and Planning and Zoning Director Bruce Shoupe suggested a solution: that the board approve the project, subject to “a certification stating that the lot lines and pins are proper as listed on the plan,” in Bartle’s words, in documentation that satisfies township staff that the concern has been resolved.

Smeland and the neighbors agreed to that condition, and so did the township supervisors, voting unanimously to grant preliminary and final subdivision approval subject to that condition and with the other waivers granted.

Montgomery’s supervisors next meet at 8 p.m. on Dec. 16 at the township administration building, 1001 Stump Road. For more information or meeting agendas and materials visit www.MontgomeryTwp.org or follow @MontTwp on Twitter.